As Chinese users settle into their nightly routine on Xiaohongshu, they are overwhelmed by a flood of English-language content. Tens of thousands of self-proclaimed "TikTok refugees" from the United States have arrived at this Chinese app, which, even lacking an official English name, has been dubbed "Red Note" by US users.
As Chinese users settle into their nightly routine on Xiaohongshu, they are overwhelmed by a flood of English-language content. Tens of thousands of self-proclaimed "TikTok refugees" from the United States have arrived at this Chinese app, which, even lacking an official English name, has been dubbed "Red Note" by US users.
当中国用户在夜间习惯性浏览小红书时，发现自己被大量的英文内容所淹没。数万名自称“TikTok难民”的美国用户已经涌入这款中国应用，尽管它还没有一个官方的英文名称，但已被美国用户称为“Red Note”。
"Hello everyone, my name is Ryan. I'm a TikTok refugee. The American government is banning TikTok, so we're looking for an alternative.…We're very sorry to interrupt you here. Hope we don't have to stay for too long," he said in a video posted on Monday, seemingly addressing the app's Chinese users.
“大家好，我叫瑞安。我是一名TikTok难民。美国政府正在封禁TikTok，所以我们正在寻找替代品。……很抱歉在这里打扰大家。希望我们不用待太久。”1月13日，一名美国用户在小红书上发布的一段视频中说道，似乎是在对中国用户讲话。
The video, which includes a Chinese translation read by a robot voice, received over 75,000 likes in one day.
这段包含机器人朗读的中文翻译的视频，一天之内获得了超过7.5万个点赞。
The growing belief in the US that the Supreme Court will uphold a law banning TikTok has left its 170 million US users frustrated. The ban is set to take effect on Sunday, unless TikTok is sold by its parent company, ByteDance, but a sale seems unlikely, as ByteDance has firmly stated it will not sell, despite interest from potential US buyers.
美国越来越多人认为，最高法院将维持TikTok禁令，这让TikTok的1.7亿美国用户感到沮丧。除非TikTok的母公司字节跳动将其出售，否则该禁令将于1月19日生效，但出售似乎不太可能，因为字节跳动已明确表示不会出售，尽管有潜在的美国买家表示感兴趣。
As US users tag themselves as #tiktokrefugees, they are flocking to the Chinese app. By Tuesday, there were over 114,000 posts using the hashtag, with more than 2 million discussions and 73 million views as of 6 pm Beijing time.
美国用户给自己贴上#TikTok难民的标签，纷纷涌入小红书这款中国应用。截至1月14日，使用该标签的帖子已超过11.4万条；截至北京时间当天下午6点，相关讨论已超过200万次，浏览量超过7300万次。
Xiaohongshu had become the most downloaded app on the US iOS app store on Tuesday. The second most downloaded app was Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned lifestyle platform, which is also experiencing a surge in traffic from displaced TikTok users.
1月14日，小红书已成为美国iOS应用商店下载量最高的应用。排名第二的是字节跳动旗下另一款生活方式类平台Lemon8，它也因TikTok用户的涌入而流量激增。
The flow of "TikTok refugees" is seen as a strong social media protest against the expected ban on TikTok, with the excuse of the so-called "China threat" to US information security, experts said.
专家表示，这股“TikTok难民”潮是美国用户通过社交媒体对即将实施的TikTok禁令表示强烈抗议，该禁令以所谓的美国信息安全面临“中国威胁”为借口。
Dissatisfaction reflected
不满情绪的反映
Cui Di, an associate professor at Fudan University's School of Journalism, said that the "refugee" label reflects TikTok users' dissatisfaction with the current political irrationality in the US.
复旦大学新闻学院副教授崔迪表示，“难民”标签反映了TikTok用户对美国当前政治非理性的不满。
TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and its physical servers are owned by Oracle, a US company based in Texas. But the US remains prepared to ban it or force it to be sold, citing so-called national security concerns.
TikTok的全球总部设在洛杉矶和新加坡，其物理服务器所有者为得克萨斯州的美国Oracle公司。但美国仍以所谓的国家安全担忧为由，准备封禁TikTok或强迫其出售。
"TikTok has become an integral part of infrastructure, deeply influencing social culture. Many users rely on it for their livelihood, and their strong attachment to the platform leads them to consider themselves 'refugees' displaced from their home," Cui said.
“TikTok已成为基础设施不可或缺的一部分，对社会文化产生了深远影响。许多用户依赖它谋生，他们对平台的强烈依恋让他们觉得自己是从家园流离失所的‘难民’，”崔迪说。
Xiang Debao, a professor of international communication at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that this collective online movement serves as a protest against US policies, using satire to challenge US hegemony under the guise of "national security".
北京外国语大学国际传播学院教授相德宝表示，这场集体网络运动是对美国政策的抗议，用讽刺的方式挑战美国以“国家安全”为幌子实施的霸权主义。
Zheng Chuang, a research fellow at Shanghai International Studies University, said that the influx of US TikTok users also reflects a deep distrust of the US government and US tech companies.
上海外国语大学研究员郑闯表示，美国TikTok用户涌入小红书也反映出他们对美国政府和美国科技公司的信任度极低。
"The TikTok ban or forced acquisition reflects a regressive cultural mindset," he said. "Even if TikTok disappears, more apps from China and elsewhere will rise in the global spotlight."
他说：“对TikTok的禁令或强制收购反映了一种倒退的文化心态。即使TikTok消失了，也会有更多来自中国和其他地方的应用在全球舞台上崭露头角。”
Technological nationalism is self-deception, he added.
他补充说，技术民族主义是自欺欺人。
Many of the new US influencers are breaking the language barrier by sharing pictures of their pet cats and dogs, and it seems that animals are proving to be the key to opening the door of communication. Some Chinese Xiaohongshu users have jokingly quipped that the app's new US users who wish to "stay here" must pay a "pet tax".
小红书上，许多新晋美国网红正在通过分享自己宠物猫狗的照片来打破语言障碍，而动物似乎正是打开沟通之门的钥匙。一些中国小红书用户开玩笑说，小红书上新来的美国用户如果想“留下来”，必须缴纳“宠物税”。
"I heard the Chinese citizens of Red Note are asking for a pet tax from all new American refugees. Here's my submission to the pet tax. I hope it will suffice," said @El Vampiro, a US user on Xiaohongshu, alongside a photo of his cats.
“我听说小红书上的中国公民正在向所有新来的美国难民征收宠物税。这是我交的宠物税。希望它足够（抵税）了，”小红书上的美国用户@El Vampiro在一张自家的猫咪照片旁写道。
"Well received. Here's your refund," replied a Chinese user under the post with her cat on the other side of the world.
“收下了。这是你的退款，”地球另一端的一位中国用户在帖子下回复道，并附上了一张她的猫咪照片。
Cultural shock
文化冲击
But not all cultural exchanges have a happy ending.
但并非所有的文化交流都有一个圆满的结局。
Beijing-based user Yuzijiang faced a backlash from several US newcomers for "perpetuating prejudice, stereotyping, and cultural appropriation" of African American culture after posting a video of herself dancing with her curly hair.
北京用户“鱼子酱”在发布了一段自己顶着一头卷发跳舞的视频后，遭到了几名美国新用户的抵制，指责她对非裔美国文化“延续偏见、传递刻板印象、进行文化挪用”。
While many US users expressed support for her, criticizing that "America's cancel culture is already starting", the blogger ultimately wrote a long post in the comment section to apologize. She clarified that her hairstyle was not intended to offend, but was simply something she found aesthetically pleasing.
虽然许多美国用户表示支持她，并批评“美国的抵制文化已经开始了”，但这位博主最终在评论区写了一篇长文道歉。她澄清说，自己的发型并非有意冒犯，只是她觉得很好看。
Many Chinese users, however, have expressed discomfort with such encounters, fearing that US-driven political correctness, US-dominated ideology and many "unhealthy" subcultures, such as porn, gambling and drug-taking, might take root in the Chinese online environment.
然而，许多中国用户表示对此类遭遇感到不适，担心美国推动的政治正确、美国主导的意识形态以及色情、赌博、吸毒等诸多“不健康”的亚文化可能会在中国网络环境中生根发芽。
Cui from Fudan University said that the influx of "TikTok refugees" may be temporary.
复旦大学的崔迪教授表示，“TikTok难民”的涌入可能是暂时的。
Since the political correctness landscape in the US differs greatly from that in China, in the long run, it would be difficult for US culture to take root in Chinese internet society and have a lasting impact on Xiaohongshu's ecosystem.
由于美国的政治正确环境与中国大相径庭，从长远来看，美国文化很难在中国网络社会中扎根，并对小红书的生态系统产生持久影响。
Whether or not Xiaohongshu plans to take measures to protect its core user base, the arrival of TikTok refugees presents a unique opportunity for the platform to reassess its international strategy and expand into English-speaking countries beyond the Chinese cultural sphere, Cui added.
崔迪补充说，无论小红书是否计划采取措施保护其核心用户群，TikTok难民的涌入都为该平台提供了独特机会，让其重新评估自己的国际战略，并扩展到汉语文化圈以外的英语国家。
alternative
n.可供选择的事物；可供选择的解决办法
guise
n.伪装
appropriation
n.据为己有，挪用
